Department for Communities and Local Government

Religious Hatred: Islam

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so when, they intend to instigate an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in politics at all levels.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. There is no place for hatred against people because of their race, gender, ethnic origin, faith, sexual orientation, age or disability. This includes anti-Muslim attacks which are unacceptable in Britain.The Government is already taking a number of steps to counter Islamaphobia and does not intend to carry out an independent inquiry. We fund Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) to encourage reporting of these crimes and to support victims. We have also set up the first cross Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group to raise awareness of Islamaphobic attacks. In addition, the police began to disaggregate hate crime by religion in April 2016. This will help the police to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Institute for Apprenticeships

Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Institute for Apprenticeships will take over any of the functions carried out by Ofsted, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education or Ofqual, such as the inspection of apprenticeship provision or the regulation of qualifications, and if so, which.

Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the new Institute for Apprenticeships will have in regulating the quality of apprenticeships, and what powers it will have to undertake that role.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The role of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be to ensure the quality of apprenticeship standards. Apprenticeships will only attract funding from government or the levy if they are against an approved standard or framework. Each standard will contain a plan for how the apprenticeship will be assessed. Although this will be approved by the Institute, the Institute will not assess the apprenticeship training itself: the register of training providers is owned by the Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted will continue to inspect providers.The Institute will, however, need to ensure there is consistency between the levels of assessment being applied, as part of its role in approving standards and assessment plans.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 10 May (HL8062), whether that answer assumes that the United States Congress will accept a "fast-track" procedure for ratifying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood of such a procedure being either endorsed or withdrawn by the new Congress in 2017.

Lord Price: Legislation to re-authorise Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – sometimes called “fast track” – the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, was signed into law by President Obama on 29 June 2015. It will apply to certain international trade agreements – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – if agreement is reached before 1 July 2018.

Apprentices: Females

Baroness Nye: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish the completion rates for apprentices across all apprenticeship frameworks and standards, disaggregated by gender, in the light of the recent report by the Young Women's Trust suggesting that female apprentices in male dominated sectors such as engineering, IT and construction are less likely to complete their apprenticeship.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Apprenticeship achievement rates disaggregated by framework and gender are published on the GOV.UK website by the Skills Funding Agency in the National Achievement Rate Tables (formerly National Success Rate Tables). The dataset is too large to attach to this response but is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sfa-national-achievement-rates-tables-2014-to-2015 However, table 1 shows overall achievement rates by gender in 2014/15. Table 1: Apprenticeship Overall Achievement Rates by Gender, 2014/15 Overall CohortOverall Achievement Rate % Female192,31071.7 Male170,95071.7

Small Businesses: Billing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Australian model for payment disputes could help small UK suppliers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In establishing the UK Small Business Commissioner through the Enterprise Act 2016, the Government has taken inspiration from the Australian Small Business Commissioner (now the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) and Small Business Commissioners at state level in Australia. These bodies provide advice and access to alternative dispute resolution to small businesses involved in a variety of disputes, which may include some payment disputes. The UK Small Business Commissioner will focus on payment disputes between small and larger businesses and encourage a change in how businesses deal with each other – a long lasting cultural change to promote fair treatment for all. He or she will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively. The Commissioner will provide general information and advice, direct small businesses to existing dispute resolution services (eg, mediation services and ombudsmen) and handle complaints from small businesses about payment issues

UK Trade with EU

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the proportions, by value, of British exports of goods to EU member states invoiced in (1) sterling, (2) US dollars, and (3) euro, in 2015.

Lord Price: The data requested is not available. HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoice for trade with non-EU countries but businesses are not required to declare the currency of invoicing for trade with EU member states.

Research Councils

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Strategic Advisory Group for the Research Councils will be established, what will be its membership, and what are its terms of reference.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government encourages Research Councils to work closely with other Research Councils and their communities. With regards to the Global Challenges Research Fund, Research Councils are establishing an advisory group - as they do with other areas of research. Details of the group can be found on the Research Councils UK website: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/media/news/160526/.



Advisory group announcement
(PDF Document, 276.69 KB)

Ministry of Defence

European Union: Army

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the UK is committed to joining an EU army if one is formed and we are invited to do so.

Earl Howe: The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will never be part of a European Army. We have consistently said that we will oppose any measures which would undermine member states' competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO, which is the cornerstone of our defence.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sheep Dipping

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the group led by Tom Rigby can expect a response to their question about the advice that was received by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from the Health and Safety Executive and the National Poisons Unit immediately prior to the end of compulsory dipping following the Revocation Order of 4 June 1992.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra officials have been investigating this issue since the meeting with the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group in November and sent information to Tom Rigby on 26 May. The information follows up the actions from the meeting and includes news releases from MAFF and the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) from 1992 and 1993. These explain why the decision was taken to end compulsory dipping, and the conclusions of the VPC reviews of organophosphate sheep dips at the time. A note of agreed actions from the meeting was also provided.

Lead Ammunition Group

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 15 December 2015 (HL4104), when they intend to make public the report of the Lead Ammunition Group, which was submitted on 3 June 2015, and their response.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government is still in the process of considering the report’s findings and recommendations and will respond to it as soon as possible.

Home Office

Deportation: Algeria

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what, if any, extra security measures are being implemented, and at what cost, following the decision by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to refuse the Home Office the right to deport six individuals, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda, to Algeria.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not comment on security matters. However national security remains our primary consideration and we have taken, and will continue to take, all necessary measures to protect our national security.

Police: International Organisations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they co-operate with police authorities to promote service by police personnel with the UN and other international bodies.

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential value in career development of service by police on international deployments.

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have in place to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The National Police Chiefs’ Council has established the new Joint International Policing Hub to triage requests for international police assistance through a single point. The Hub joins up the police at a national level and with Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is intended to promote the UK model of policing by consent. Decisions on who to recommend to deploy, and where, lies with Chief Constables, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners.As the first professional body for all of policing in England and Wales, the College of Policing develops standards and guidance for policing. The College is considering flexibility and the structure of entry, exit and re-entry of officers. It is also considering routes for officers to gain external experience, such as secondments, as part of the Leadership Review.The Government has no plans to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters. Any personnel deployed as part of a national contingent are listed on the UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2016/apr16_4.pdf

European Gendarmerie Force

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the operations of the European Gendarmerie Force.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The European Gendarmerie Force is not a European Union force. It has its own separate treaty between the countries that participate, which does not include the UK, and is not part of the European Union framework. The Government notes the work of the European Gendarmerie Force, but has no plans to pursue membership.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Civil Nuclear Constabulary

Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent on the civil nuclear police force last year, and what is the budgeted expenditure on the force for each of the next four years.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is mostly funded by industry through arrangements for it to charge nuclear sites for provision of service to those sites, as set out in the Energy Act 2004.The table below set out how much was spent on the force last year, via this mechanism:2015/16Revenue Expenditure£100.2mCapital Expenditure£3.9mTotal£104.1m The budgeted expenditure for future years is set out in the Civil Nuclear Police Authority’s Strategy and Business Plan 2016-2019 (copy attached).Figures for 2019/20 are not provided because this is not yet forecast, given the current extent of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority’s business planning.Some costs that are not for provision of service to nuclear sites cannot be charged to industry, and are covered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. In 2015/16 that amount was £213,000. It is difficult to predict in advance which costs might not be rechargeable, therefore we do not have a forecast for costs for future years. Similar information was provided in January 2016 in response to a House of Commons named day parliamentary question (reference: 22582), which asked what expenditure has been allocated to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20. The figures given in answer to that question and the figures given and referred to here, show some variation. The reason for this variation is partly that the previous figures were based on indicative budgets whereas the figures given here are final budgets as approved by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority Board.



CNPA Strategy and Business Plan 2016-19
(PDF Document, 386.51 KB)